May 6, 2009 10:13 am US/Central
Fire Sweeps Through Frat House At NIU
Single-Room Occupancy Building Was On Fraternity Row
DEKALB, Ill. (CBS) ―
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A fire broke out early Wednesday at a single-room occupancy facility on fraternity row at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
CBS
A fire broke out early Wednesday at a single-room occupancy fraternity house off the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb, leaving more than a dozen people displaced.
The fire started just before 6 a.m. in the Omega Delta fraternity house at 835 Greenbrier Rd., DeKalb police confirmed. The first fire companies that arrived saw the front of the building was fully involved, and the entire front was completely charred.
The initial call about the fire indicated that it was outside the building and racing up the exterior wall, but it later spread inside to both the first and second floor of the wood frame structure.
DeKalb Fire Chief Bruce Harrison said about 13 people were inside, including one who jumped out a second story window.
One person was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Harrison said.
NIU is working to find alternate housing for the fraternity's residents, Harrison said.
Several young men and shorts and T-shirts or sleeveless shirts, possibly residents of the building, were standing on the lawn after the fire. At least a dozen people were inside at the time.
A beer keg and several garbage cans were seen scattered around.
A real estate advertisement for the fraternity house described it as a single-room occupancy facility off campus , and said it was recently for sale.
CBS 2's Kris Habermehl contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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